Lexington Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Dawson County · County seat · Population 10,348 (2020 census) · ZIP 68850 · Founded 1871

About Lexington

Lexington is a city of 10,348 people (2020), the seat of Dawson County and the 16th-largest city in Nebraska, at 2,392 feet on the north side of the Platte valley. US 30 and the Union Pacific main line run through the middle of town; US 283 ends at US 30 near downtown and runs south to I-80 (Exit 237), about 3 miles away, and on past Johnson Lake, about 9 miles southwest. Lexington has Lexington Regional Health Center, the public schools, a Central Community College center, the Lexington Public Library, the Dawson County Fairgrounds and Jim Kelly Field airport. About 65 percent of residents are Hispanic or Latino (2020 census). Lexington is on Central Time.

History

The first settlement was south of the river, where a trading post and the Plum Creek stage and Pony Express station stood in the early 1860s, in what is now Phelps County. In August 1864 Cheyenne raids on wagon trains and road ranches there became known as the Plum Creek Massacre. When the Union Pacific reached the north bank in 1866, Daniel Freeman and the settlement moved to the tracks. On August 7, 1867, Cheyenne under Turkey Leg derailed a westbound freight and killed three railroad men a few miles west of town; a marker on US 30 tells the story. The town, founded in 1871 as Plum Creek, got a post office at the depot in 1872 and was platted in 1873. Residents voted in 1889 to rename it Lexington, for the Revolutionary War battle. The Beaux Arts courthouse was built in 1913–14. In 1990 IBP opened a beef plant in the former Sperry-New Holland combine plant, the first of a series of large packing plants in small Nebraska cities; Lexington grew from 6,601 people to 10,011 in the 1990s. Tyson, owner since 2001, announced on November 21, 2025, that it would close the plant, which had 3,212 positions; it stopped operating on January 20, 2026, and the last of the closing crew left on July 24, 2026.

Highways and trails through Lexington

Route	One way	Other way
US 30Through town beside the Union Pacific	East to Overton and Kearney	West to Cozad and Gothenburg
US 283Ends at US 30 in Lexington	South to I-80 (Exit 237), Johnson Lake and Elwood
I-80Exit 237, about 3 mi south	East to Kearney	West to Cozad and North Platte

Nearby towns

Overton	about 11 mi east-southeast	US 30
Cozad	about 14 mi west-northwest	US 30 or I-80
Elwood	about 14 mi south-southwest	US 283
Sumner	about 17 mi northeast	County roads
Eddyville	about 17 mi north-northeast	County roads
Bertrand	about 18 mi south-southeast	US 283 and NE 23
Elm Creek	about 20 mi east-southeast	US 30 or I-80
Gothenburg	about 24 mi west-northwest	US 30 or I-80
Farnam	about 25 mi west	I-80 and NE 21, NE 23
Holdrege	about 30 mi southeast	US 283 and NE 23
Kearney	about 35 mi east	I-80 or US 30

Things to see

the Dawson County Courthouse (1913–14, National Register) · the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles, 606 Heartland Rd. at I-80 · the Dawson County Historical Society Museum, 805 Taft St. · the Plum Creek Railroad Attack marker on US 30 west of town · the Ira Webster Olive House and Harry V. Temple House on East 13th Street (National Register; private) · Mac’s Creek Winery & Brewery · the Plum Creek Disc Golf Course · Johnson Lake State Recreation Area, about 9 miles southwest

Events in Lexington

Dawson County Fair
Dawson County Fair, a county fair in Lexington, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Lexington Public Schools, 300 S. Washington St., (308) 324-4681: Lexington High School (9–12), Lexington Middle School (6–8), Bryan, Morton, Sandoz and Pershing elementary schools and the Early Learning Academy; Central Community College – Lexington Center, 1501 Plum Creek Pkwy., (308) 324-8480

Health care: Lexington Regional Health Center, 1201 N. Erie St., (308) 324-5651, open 24 hours

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Dawson County (dawsoncountyne.gov); History Nebraska (markers, "Dawson County's True Namesake," "How a Lexington meatpacking plant changed Nebraska," "The Instant Town"); Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Fitzpatrick, Nebraska Place-Names (1925); NEGenWeb Dawson County; National Register; National Park Service (Pony Express NHT); HMdb; Nebraska Game and Parks; KRVN; Rural Radio Network; 1011 Now; Gothenburg Leader; school districts; NE211. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.